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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Mr. Peabody & Sherman Adoption Movie Review

Seven-year-old boy Sherman lives with his father, a small
dog named Mr. Peabody. Sherman was adopted as an infant after Peabody found
him, abandoned in a box. Peabody has worked hard to prepare Sherman for school,
even using a time machine to allow Sherman to experience the past first-hand. Sherman
fits in with the unpopular kids at school. Penny, one of the popular girls,
upset when Sherman corrects her in class, sets out to humiliate Sherman by
calling him a dog; after all… Mr. Peabody is his father. She tries to demean
Sherman in front of their classmates. When Sherman retaliates violently, a
social worker responds. She expresses her intention to have Sherman removed
from Mr. Peabody’s home. Peabody must
figure out a way to make peace with the girl and her parents before the
social worker completes her investigation. Along the way Sherman and Penny have
a time-travelling adventure which brings them close to many historical figures
and closer to each other.

How is This Relevant
to Adoption?

There’s lots of adoption relevance here. Peabody fought in
court for the right to adopt Sherman. Peabody explains that he did this because
he had never had a family, and wanted to provide one to Sherman. Adoption
themes fuel the conflict and plot.

Strong Points

Mr.
Peabody is an example of someone who ages out of a group home and manages to
succeed in the world, anyway. Then, he remembers his own experiences and tries
to help someone in a similar situation.

Peabody
is a good father in many ways. He always considers Sherman’s best interest, and
promises that he will always be there for Sherman.

Sherman
and Peabody have a positive relationship. Although it goes through challenges,
it is strengthened by the end of the film.

Challenges

It
might be hard for some viewers to watch a scene where, as a young pup, Mr.
Peabody tries to be adopted. When a child decides not to take him, Peabody
pleas, basically, “adopt me. I’ll do whatever you want.” He still isn’t
adopted. Some of the scenes are similar to scenes in Meet the Robinsons.

Peabody
struggles with verbally expressing his affection for Sherman. he does not let
Sherman call him “dad,” and returns Sherman’s “I love you” with something like,
“I have a strong regard for you as well.” Peabody also struggles with letting Sherman grow into some independence (see Pacific Rim).

Sherman
gets blamed and nearly suffers significant consequences for bullying started by
Penny, centered around Sherman’s identity as a cross-cultural (well,
cross-species) adoptee. Penny never actually apologizes, but does eventually
express her solidarity with Sherman and Peabody.

Sherman
relates being a dog to the positive behavioral aspects he sees in Mr. Peabody.
It’s good for kids adopted cross culturally to find common ground with their
parents, but this oversimplification does miss certain elements of what it
means to be a dog. It works for a kids’ movie about cross-cultural adoption,
but might need to be unpacked some more after the movie.

Weak Points

There
seems to be a bit of blame allowed to be on kids. When Peabody is not adopted,
it’s because he is sarcastic. Later, Sherman says that Mr. Peabody’s only
mistake was adopting him. Neither statement is corrected.

The
social worker in the film, Ms. Grunion, is awful. She is cruel, quick-tempered,
vindictive, and prejudiced. The plot is
largely driven by her desire to take Sherman from Mr. Peabody, permanently. The situation is never resolved - it just kind of goes away.

Sherman
was found, abandoned in a box. There is no exploration of his back history.

Sherman
briefly believes he has seen his father decapitated by a guillotine.

The
phrase, “It’s an adoptive relationship” is used for somewhat humorous effect to
explain the differences between Sherman and Peabody. One character responds
with what feels a bit like an unintentionally condescending “awww.”

At
one point, Peabody tells Sherman, “You’re not a dog. Just a very bad boy.” He
never corrects this.

Recommendation

My
recommendation is mixed on this one. It’s an entertaining film, Peabody is a
good dad, and he and Sherman do grow closer. They seem to have a good
father-son relationship. At the same time, there appears to be lots of
potential trigger material (the plot of the movie is – partially - that a
social worker wants to end the father-son relationship.) You might want to see
it yourself, first, to see whether you think it's a good fit for your own kids. Then be prepared to talk about it with your kids right
after the film, if you do choose to bring them.

Questions for Discussion after the movie

So…
Is Sherman a dog?

How
can you help your kids prepare for and respond to mean things that other kids
might say?